Toyota to Build a Prototype of the "City of the Future" near Fuji Mountain

Toyota has announced plans to build a prototype of the city of the future near Japan's Fuji Mountain, DPA reported.

The city will be powered by hydrogen cells and will act as a laboratory for autonomous vehicles, smart homes, artificial intelligence and other technologies.

Toyota unveiled a plan for the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The development, to be built at the site of a closed factory, will be called Woven City - a reference to Toyota's start as a loom manufacturing company - and will serve as a home to full-time residents and researchers, Bendigo Advertiser reported.

The concern did not specify the price of the project.

The car industry executives  of many leading car companies describe how cities of the future can be designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and buildings, reduce congestion, and apply Internet technologies to everyday life.

However, the plan for a futuristic 71-hectare city near Fuji is a major step forward for competitors. The company initially expects 2,000 people to live in the city and construction should begin next year. CEO Akio Toyoda called the project "my personal field of dreams".

Toyota added that it has commissioned the design of the settlement to Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, whose company is behind Google's office buildings in Silicon Valley and London and the skyscraper 2 World Trade Center in New York. The concern noted that it is also open to partnerships with other companies that want to use the project as a technology testing ground.